Fútbol (soccer) is the most popular sport in Colombia. Baseball has become popular in recent years; it is especially popular along the coast and is strongly promoted all around the country. Edgar Rentería is an example of a famous Colombian baseball player, but Soccer is still the main sport of the country. Boxing and fighting sports are also very popular amongst the male population and all of these are practiced avidly by the youth.
An ancient game called Tejo, inherited from the “muisca natives”, is also played. The object of tejo is to throw a small metal disk at a gunpowder detonator in a small circular area. The winner is calculated by the number of explosions compared to number of throws.
Association Football
Association football was introduced by British workers in Strip clubs and Barranquilla in the late 19th Century while working for mual level of football in Colombia since its foundation on July 20, 1924. The organization is associated to the FIFA and CONMEBOL since 1936. The Colombia national football team participated in a FIFA World Cup in 1962 followed by others in 1990, 1994 and 1998. The best presentation being in 1990 when the team reached the second round.
Its most notorious achievement was the winning of the Copa América 2001 edition, which was also hosted in Colombia. It also qualified for the 1968, 1972, 1980 and 1992 Summer Olympics. Throughout the years many Colombians have also worked for leagues in other nations. The national leagues compete in the Copa Mustang which also participates in international tournaments like Copa Libertadores de América upon winning or finishing in the first places.
Cycling
Professional Cycling in Colombia became very popular after the triumphs of Martín Emilio “Cochise” Rodríguez in European cycling competitions which in turn helped to develop the Colombian Cycling Federation. Rodriguez was later followed by a generation of bicyclers known as the “Colombian beetles” which include up to this date Luis “Lucho” Herrera, Luis Felipe Laverde, Fabio Parra, Víctor Hugo Peña, Santiago Botero and more recently Mauricio Soler. These competitors created a fan base in Colombia which in turn helped to create the Vuelta a Colombia a local cycling competition.
During the 1990s the government of the Colombian capital, Bogotá introduced the Ciclovía which became popular and were introduced later into other Colombian cities. The government of Bogotá later built Bogotá’s Bike Paths Network to sponsor the practice of sports by the population and to curb the city’s increasing pollution by drivers. The network extends throughout the city with bicycle use increasing 5 times in the city. There is an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 trips made daily in Bogotá by bicycle. A large portion of this use is in southern poorer areas.
Boxing
Professional Boxing in Colombia is mostly practiced in Caribbean region and in poor areas of the western regions of Colombia. Boxing in Colombia was also introduced by Europeans in the late 19th Century and became popular in Latin America in the early 20th Century and in Colombia became popular in the 1960s with the triumphs of Antonio “Kid Pambele” Cervantes who became a two time world Jr. Welterweight champion. He was then followed by boxers like Prudencio Cardona, Rodrigo Valdéz, Fidel Bassa, and many more.
The success of these boxers created a fan base and many Colombians started to follow the sport. The National Boxing Commission of Colombia (Comisión Nacional de Boxeo de Colombia) was created and regulated the practice of boxing in Colombia.
In the 1980s the success of Miguel “Happy” Lora reigned in the bantam weight division (118 pounds) -WBC- from 1985 to 1988 and the silver medal in the Pan American Games of Carlos José Tamara. Another boxers have figured internationally and won some titles such as Ener Julio, Joel Julio, among others.
During the 1990s surged Irene “Mambaco” Pacheco who became a world champion in the IBF Flyweight category and in the 2000s Fulgencio Zúñiga current IBO Super middleweight champion.
Roller Skating
With the introduction of Inline skates in Colombia during the 1990s roller skating became widely practiced throughout most of the main cities in the country. It was mostly popular in the main and medium size cities such as Cartagena, Cali, Bogotá, Pasto, Barrancabermeja, Barranquilla, Medellín and Valledupar.
Motor Sports
With The most known Colombians that Los colombianos más destacados en los deportes de motor son el piloto de Fórmula 1 Juan Pablo Montoya y el piloto de Martin Cardenas.
Juan Pablo Montoya has been the most successful sportsman in motor sports in Colombia with a cameo in Formula One and of 2006 in the NASCAR, United States.
Golf
Currently, Camilo Villegas is the most recognized Colombian golfer in the world. He has been a PGA Tour professional in the United States since 2006. In 2008, Villegas was the first PGA Tour player in 11 years to win his first two PGA Tour events back-to-back. He is currently among the Top 10 ranked golfers in the world according to the Official World Golf Rankings.
Marisa Baena was the inaugural Champion of the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship, in 2005.
Camilo Benedetti, Diego Vanegas and Manuel (“Manny”) Villegas (younger brother of Camilo Villegas) are currently playing professional golf in the United States on the Nationwide Tour with hopes of eventually graduating to the PGA Tour. David Vanegas is playing on the equivalent Challenge Tour with the prospect of promotion to the European Tour.